Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.3333.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler upgraded Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Simmons First National from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Simmons First National from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Simmons First National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Simmons First National in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “positive” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company.

Simmons First National Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:SFNC opened at $19.45 on Tuesday. Simmons First National has a 52 week low of $17.00 and a 52 week high of $23.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $18.34 and its 200-day moving average is $19.20. The firm has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.64 and a beta of 0.92.

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.01). Simmons First National had a negative net margin of 29.70% and a positive return on equity of 5.84%. The firm had revenue of $232.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $103.26 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. Simmons First National’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Simmons First National will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Simmons First National Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.2125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Simmons First National’s payout ratio is currently -29.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Simmons First National news, EVP David W. Garner acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.66 per share, for a total transaction of $52,980.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 72,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,277,612.70. This represents a 4.33% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven A. Cosse bought 8,603 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.44 per share, with a total value of $150,036.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 113,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,982,090.88. This represents a 8.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 1.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Simmons First National

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFNC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Simmons First National by 12.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,419,609 shares of the bank’s stock worth $314,764,000 after buying an additional 1,763,161 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Simmons First National by 2.3% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,630,535 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $146,279,000 after purchasing an additional 169,768 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Simmons First National during the third quarter worth about $129,282,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Simmons First National by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,508,330 shares of the bank’s stock worth $86,425,000 after purchasing an additional 91,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Simmons First National by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,737,214 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,858,000 after buying an additional 254,067 shares in the last quarter. 27.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Simmons First National Company Profile

Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ:SFNC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Through its primary operating subsidiary, Simmons Bank, the company maintains a network of more than 200 branches across Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma and North Carolina. Simmons First National offers a full suite of financial services to individuals, small businesses and commercial clients, emphasizing relationship-driven community banking.

The company’s core business activities span deposit-taking, lending and payment services.